Premonitions
by banduraqueen
Summary: Jenny eats band candy, and relives a youth that's not so care-free, and is intrisically opposed to "Bad-Magic-Hates-The-World-Ticking-Time-Bomb Guy." 1st in a 4 part GJ series. FINISHED!
1. Giles Comes Home

Giles had rarely been so grateful to reach his front door. It had been a long night; passing the time helping Buffy study for her SATs only compounded the usual tedium of waiting for vampires to rise.

_Honestly, the day that girl takes her schooling seriously will be the day I take up HTML programming_ Giles thought as he unlocked the door and stepped inside, smiling at the thought of what Jenny's face would look like if he asked her to teach him about JavaScript, whatever that was.

The apartment was completely dark, except for a small light on in the kitchenette.

"Jenny?" Giles called softly as he closed the door behind him, "I'm home."

There was no reply.

Giles hung up his coat and scarf, put his briefcase on his desk and went into the kitchenette. According to the clock on the microwave it was 12:47. Jenny was probably asleep. But she had apparently left a plate of neatly saran-wrapped left-overs for Giles's dinner on the counter. He popped it into the microwave and sighed.

It was odd that since they had started living together, just before Buffy returned, it seemed as if he and Jenny were spending less time together than before. Giles supposed it was because they felt less obliged to schedule dates and the like. But at least they were together at night.

After he had eaten his dinner and washed up, Giles quietly climbed the stairs to his bedroom and carefully opened the door. He smiled to see Jenny at last, as she lay peacefully curled up on his bed. She was wearing a pair of his pajamas and was hugging a pillow tightly, her dark cropped hair falling over her eyes. For a moment Giles stood looking at her, wondering what he had done to deserve to have such a creature lying in his bed.

After he had changed and slid into bed besides her, Giles kissed Jenny softly on the cheek and whispered, "Jenny, are you asleep?"

"No" she sighed in reply.

"Good" Giles said and continued to gently kiss her face and neck.

Jenny didn't respond except to ask "did you see your dinner on the counter?"

"Mm hm" Giles replied. When Jenny still didn't turn to face him, he stopped

kissing her to brush the hair out of her eyes. "Is something wrong?" He asked.

Jenny was silent for a few moments before she spoke, "Rupert, what was I wearing today?"

Giles was taken aback by the unexpected question. "Uh... um, well..." he stammered, even more surprised when he realize he didn't have an answer. He had left for school early that morning and hadn't seen Jenny the entire day.

At last Jenny turned to face him with a weary smile. "We don't see much of each other these days, do we?" she said.

"Well, we-we're seeing each other now" Giles smiled a little and leaned in to kiss Jenny again.

She let him for a while before gently pulling away. "I'm not just in this relationship for the sex, you know" she said seriously.

"I-I know" Giles stammered, a bit confused.

"So why can't we spend some time together doing, you know, something else?"

"Well, I-I've been busy. Buffy's training --"

"Of course, the Slayer, the most important person in a Watcher's life."

"Jenny, don't --" Giles didn't appreciate being made to feel guilty about a situation he couldn't help.

"I-I know. I'm sorry. Being a Watcher is important" Jenny said sincerely, but she couldn't keep some sarcasm from resurfacing as she continued, "it's your sacred duty."

"Jenny, I-I... i-it's not that I wouldn't rather spend time with you --"

"It's just that you can't. I know" Jenny sighed, "but Rupert, if Buffy can slay, and go to school and have a social life, why can't you be a Watcher, and a librarian, and have time for us?"

"Well, Buffy isn't necessarily a good example of skillful time-management. Her studying for her SAT isn't exactly progressing well --"

"You were helping Buffy study tonight?" Jenny asked, her voice suddenly cold.

"Yes..."

"Oh." Jenny turned away from Giles and stared at the ceiling instead.

Giles was getting exasperated. He didn't even understand why they were having this argument. "Jenny, she... I-I-I have to do something to --"

"Do you? I didn't know tutoring was part of the Watcher job description" Jenny said, still engrossed by the ceiling.

The volume of Giles's voice was rising, "She can't very well slay if she's - if she's 'stressed out' about school."

"But that's just it, Rupert," Jenny said, turning to face Giles again, propping herself up with her arm, the volume of her voice rising to match his, "Buffy's _not_ stressed out. Not compared to you at any rate. You take everything far too seriously --"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Giles said sarcastically as he sat up, "I didn't know vampires and demons and-and impending apocalypses _weren't _to be taken seriously. I suppose I should re-examine my priorities."

"Just lighten up once in a while. You don't have to be Mr. Responsibility all the time. Take a break and have fun! What's the point of saving the world if you aren't going to live in it?"

"Saving it so that others can live?"

"Well what if one of those others wants to live with you?" Jenny said, quieting down, adding uncertainly, "Rupert, don't I matter too?"

"Of course! How ca-can y-you-you --" Giles was annoyed by Jenny's attitude. Had she forgotten how he'd almost died for her? Giles looked at Jenny, baffled about what it was she wanted, and saw her large dark eyes looking just as confused back at him. He realized they were both feeling the same way about where their relationship was at -- lost and unsure -- and calmed down. "I... I'm sorry" he said, although he didn't know for what, "maybe... maybe we should just go to sleep" and he turned over, pulling the covers up to his chin.

They lay there in silence for a while, Jenny staring glumly at the ceiling, until she ventured to ask, "Rupert, are you asleep?"

"No" he muttered.

"Good" Jenny said lightly.

Giles turned over slowly to face Jenny again.

"Y' know, it's still _part_ of what I'm in this relationship for" she said grudgingly and turned her head to look apologetically at Giles, "I've been missing you."

She moved closer to Giles and kissed him softly. He let her.


	2. Jenny's Troubles

The next day Jenny came home to an empty apartment, loaded down with marking, a case of chocolates that she had been suckered into buying from her students to raise money for the band, and, as clichéd as it might sound, a heavy heart.

This thing of living with Rupert was not working out the way Jenny had expected it to, and she was planning to have a good mope about it that evening, as she sat alone, watching TV, ignoring her marking and pigging out on chocolate.

Jenny dumped her things of the kitchenette counter, grabbed a candy bar from her case of them, eagerly unwrapped it and took a bite.

_Ah, chocolate, friend of the broken hearted. If I've ever needed you, it's now. _

For the first time since she had accidentally shot him in the back with that crossbow, Jenny was considering leaving Rupert. Not completely, mind you, just moving out. The idea of leaving made her sick, but the thought of things continuing as they were -- a sort of relationship limbo, seeing Rupert only at night, as if she was some sort of "other woman" he had to sneak away to see -- didn't exactly give her much to look forward to either. Maybe it would be good for them if she moved out. It would force them to work at their relationship more.

Or it might not.

Jenny hated feeling indecisive, and was confused about why she even had this decision to make. What had happened to them? Things had started out well enough; it had been fun spending mornings and evenings together, just being comfortable together, learning each other's habits. But things changed when Buffy came back and Rupert devoted himself to his Watcher's duties. Jenny was loathed to even think it, but she liked it better before. All the same though, she wouldn't wish Buffy away again. Rupert just wasn't himself without her.

Taking the case of candy with her, Jenny flopped down on the couch and sighed. She unwrapped another chocolate bar and started to nibble on it meditatively.

Hadn't that been one of the things she had first found so appealing about Rupert anyways? His devotion to his Slayer? Jenny remembered about two years ago, when she had faced her first apocalypse, Rupert insisting that he would face the Master instead of Buffy. It had been a futile effort, but he was determined to do it. Buffy had to knock him out to stop him. Jenny smiled, remembering how she had lost a part of her heart to him then.

It wasn't every man who would stand up to do something like that -- volunteer to face death for the sake of loyalty and love. It demonstrated more than just a sense of responsibility, it showed Rupert had a sense of duty and honour.

"Duty and honour are what separate men from vermin" Jenny recited one of her father's favourite sayings as she unwrapped her fourth chocolate bar. Then she cringed painfully as her mind was suddenly flooded with thoughts of how she had failed in her own duty, not just once, but three times. She had allowed Angel to lose his soul twice, and the second time he had to be killed, which meant he couldn't be made to suffer anymore. She had failed her family, and her punishment was of her own creation: she no longer had a way to demonstrate her loyalty to them. She was an unworthy daughter of her clan, and if she wasn't Janna of the Kalderash, who was she? Jenny Calendar? Who was that? She was nobody.

"A man without responsibility is nothing" Jenny recited grimly.

_Rupert is fortunate to have such an important duty_, Jenny thought, _he's right to devote himself to it so. Rupert_ -- Jenny's train of thought was suddenly interrupted by a realization: _I'm living with Rupert!_ Jenny blanched. She was living, out of wedlock, with a man. An older man. Well, actually, not that much older. Her cousin was married to the widower Ivanikov when she was only fifteen, after all. Compared to her Jenny was an old maid. Not even compared to her! Jenny _was_ an old maid, period. She was thirty-one years old (_where had the years gone?_), unmarried, and living with a man like a... like a... Jenny couldn't even think it. Her mother would be so ashamed if she knew.

Jenny took a bite of her seventh chocolate bar and tried to calm down. Rupert was an honourable man, after all. He would surely marry her. Surely he would.

Jenny looked at the half-eaten bar of chocolate in her hand. She really shouldn't be eating it. It would just make her gain weight and give her acne. Then Rupert wouldn't want her anymore. She would be fat, spotty, a disgrace to her family and alone.

But wait. Why was she even thinking about this? She had marking she was supposed to be doing. Certain things were expected of her, and she had to live up to them. She had to.

She'd just finish this one chocolate bar though. It would be a shame to let it go to waste.


	3. Young Again

Jenny was hunched over a pile of tests she was grading, but stood up when Giles walked in that evening, his jacket slung over his shoulder and his tie undone.

"Hello Rupert," she greeted Giles, in what struck him as an unusually formal manner. Maybe she was still mad at him for some reason.

"Hey babe," he said, with what he thought was an endearing smile, and tossed his things unceremoniously on the nearest chair. Jenny looked good tonight, he thought, she seemed a bit fidgety, but there was something appealing about that too. It made her seem… helpless, in a way. Although Giles knew very well that Jenny was hardly helpless.

Jenny didn't like the way Giles was looking at her; it made her feel guilty just standing there. Or was it that she was feeling guilty about the way he was making her feel? She was getting confused. What had she been about to do again? Go to Rupert? No, that wasn't it. She was going to the kitchen. Yes, that had been her plan.

Having sauntered up to Jenny, Giles was just about to put his arms around her when she took a couple of steps back.

"Uh, I-I-I've been, uh, keeping your dinner warm for you. Y-you, uh, just sit down and I'll get it for you," she said with a nervous smile and stepped briskly into the kitchenette.

"Okay," Giles said. He was a bit taken aback by Jenny's behaviour, but he wasn't about to complain about being served. "So, what did you make?" he asked as Jenny came out of the kitchenette again carrying a bowl and a basket of freshly baked bread. She set it in front of him. "Oh, stew."

"It's goulash. My grandmother always used to make it, I felt like making comfort food tonight for some reason…. What's so funny?"

Giles had been doing a rather bad job of trying not to laugh. "Goulash, sounds like it should be the official food of Sunnydale or something…"

Jenny looked puzzled.

"It sounds like 'ghoulish,'" Giles explained.

"Oh…" apparently at a loss for words, Jenny went back into the kitchenette.

"Get a sense of humour, love," Giles muttered as he reached for a piece of bread. He tore off a hunk, which he then dipped in the stew and stuffed in his mouth. "Hey, aren't you having anything?" he called to Jenny between chews.

"No, I'm not hungry. I'll just clean up here."

"So you felt like making comfort food, but not like eating any?"

"Yes," Jenny sounded tense.

"Okay. Whatever," Giles mumbled.

"But if you'd like anything else, just ask," Jenny continued.

"Yeah, uh, how 'bout a pint?" Giles called with his mouth full, again.

In a moment Jenny came out of the kitchen and put a tall glass of clear liquid in front of Giles.

He swallowed a big mouthful and looked at the glass. "Oh. Water. A whole pint of water," Taking another big bite of bread, he looked up at Jenny. "Are you feeling alright, love?" he asked.

"Uh, yes, I'm-I'm fine." She didn't look it though. She was watching Giles and the large amount of crumbs he was generating with a faintly disgusted look on her face. "Y-you're elbows are on the table," she pointed out.

"So?" there was a faint note of hostility in Giles's voice.

"Nothing," Jenny replied with a quick, nervous smile and sat down at the table. After a few moments she spoke, "Um, R-Rupert, I was, uh, thinking about what you were saying last night…"

"Uh huh," Giles tried to remember what it was he said.

"…and you were right."

"Was I? About what?"

"Everything."

"Oh. Okay. Great." Giles shrugged. He took a gulp of water and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Are you finished?" Jenny asked.

"Yeah," Giles replied. Jenny was still looking at him expectantly. "Thanks," he added.

"You're welcome," Jenny smiled, and carried the dishes into the kitchenette.

Giles followed her, watching her put the dishes into a sink full of soapy water and begin to wash them. "Why don't you leave that, Jen? I want to go out." He said cajolingly.

"Out?" that wasn't what Jenny had planned on. He was supposed to read now while she did the dishes and made tea for them.

"Yeah, out. Y'know, where the rest of the world is," Giles's sarcasm was softened with a smile.

Jenny looked up at him for a moment before quickly turning away again, blushing. He was looking at her in such a way that she had almost agreed to go. "But I still have to finish my marking, and-and you had research to do –"

"Forget it," Giles shrugged as he approached her.

"Forget it?" that was not something Rupert would say. Jenny tensed as she felt him draw near to her.

"Yeah," he put his arm around Jenny's waist and she started. "Man, you're skittish."

Jenny could feel his breath on the back of her neck; he was so close it made her skin tingle. She felt confused and guilty again.

"You need to relax," he continued, emphasizing his words in a mock-authoritative voice, then adding in a whisper, "Lucky I know just the thing," and started to softly kiss her neck and ear.

Jenny had stopped scrubbing the dishes and stood as if frozen solid. This was not what she had planned or expected or wanted to happen, but she didn't know how to stop it. Then there was a part of her that didn't even want to stop it, but she tried to ignore that voice inside her, imagining it as the devil sitting on her shoulder. She wasn't able to stifle the voice though; it managed to bargain with her conscience, and they decided that this – what was happening now – wasn't so bad, as long as it was only this, no more. Jenny closed her eyes and sighed.

Giles ran his hands down her arms into the soapy water where they clasped hers. Then, very suddenly, he lifted her hands up and spun her around to face him. Jenny let out a yelp of surprise.

Jenny tried not to, but she couldn't help staring at him now, his green eyes, his bemused smile. She felt hopelessly lost, unable to control what she did or what would happen to her. "You've gotten yourself all wet," she said weakly.

"Good," he smiled playfully, and before Jenny knew what was happening she was being kissed.

"C'mon, let's have some fun. Go get changed and we'll go out." Giles told her after a while.

Jenny would have done what he told her to do, but she couldn't; he was pressing her against the counter and she couldn't move. The way he was looking at her made Jenny think he was not entirely conscious of his surroundings, aside from the details of her face and body, or even of what he had just said. He had never looked at her that way before. Jenny wasn't sure she liked it. Wasn't sure? No, Jenny told herself, she definitely didn't like it. She squirmed uncomfortably, trying to maneuver away. "Ah, actually, Rupert, you know, the-there's school tomorrow, maybe we should just-just call it an early night," she said, trying to be firm.

"Sure, sounds like fun," Giles replied with a sly smile.

Jenny went scarlet. She was going to say that wasn't what she meant, that she still had marking to do, but then she was being kissed again and every she'd planned on faded from her mind. She started kissing him back, feeling utterly lost. 


	4. The Morning After

**Author's Note:** This should be clear already, and if it isn't, it is my fault, since I am the author, but in the last chapter Giles and Jenny were both acting like their teenage selves. Everyone should know what teenage Giles is like already. In my fic, teenage Jenny is very preoccupied with living up to her family's expectations of her, according to their values, doing what she's supposed to, etc. That's what the second chapter was supposed to show: Jenny Calendar transforming from the free-thinking liberated woman we know, into an insecure, duty-bound girl. If that wasn't clear before, I'm sorry. I hope it is now.

ALSO, in the chapters to come there will be some stuff that may not seem to make that much sense, but rest assured, it will eventually. It's kind of like a mystery. It will make even more sense if you read** "More Than Anything" **by **Dollsome**, which is a really well done story, that brings Jenny back in a very believable way, and my story takes place in the AU created in it.If you really don't want to read it, here's a quick summary of what you need to know: In Season 7, The First is looking for creative ways to tear the Scooby Gang apart, and Giles has begun to think about Jenny more and more. The First sends Giles back in time, giving him the opportunity to change the past. Giles saves Jenny, and then promptly forgets that things ever happened any differently. It's a good, well-written fic and I highly recommend it.

Anyways, on to chapter four...

* * *

Giles woke up the next morning expecting to see Jenny besides him, but she wasn't there. She must have been up for a while because her side of the bed was cold.

Giles rolled over and tried to go back to sleep, but it wasn't any good; now that he knew Jenny wasn't there he was worried about her. She had been acting really weird last night. He hoped she was feeling like herself again today. He wouldn't know if she was though until he saw her. So Giles dragged himself out of bed and went downstairs in his PJs, yawning and scratching his head.

He found Jenny on her knees on the kitchen floor, wringing out a rag over a bucket of dirty water. "Jen, it's eight AM. Why are you washing the floor?" he asked groggily.

"Because," she answered tersely, getting to her feet and picking up the bucket to pour the dirty water down the sink. She kept her head down so Giles didn't see her blushing.

However, he did get a good look at her outfit. The kerchief she was wearing to keep her hair back was kind of cute, but the rest of her ensemble was definitely un-Jenny-like: a plain white blouse with every single button done up, a floor-length skirt and black tights with sandals. Giles hadn't gotten a good look at her face, but he didn't think she was wearing any makeup either.

"What's with the, uh, schoolmarm getup?" he asked.

Jenny frowned slightly, but didn't answer, or even look at Giles. Instead she kept her eyes on what she was doing as she put the bucket away under the sink and said, "I made some oatmeal for breakfast. It's on the stove. I'm going to try to get some marking finished before I leave. You should hurry or you'll be late," and, keeping her eyes cast down, she quickly edged around Giles and out of the kitchenette.

Giles followed her lazily and leaned in the doorway as she sat down at the desk and got to work. "Oh yeah, school," he said as if it had just slipped his mind that he had a job to go to. "I don't think I'll go today."

"What?" Jenny's head jerked as if she was going to turn to face Giles, but stopped herself. She sounded irate.

"I don't wanna go," Giles said as if explaining to someone very stupid. He started walking towards the desk as he continued, "Why don't you call in sick for us, Jen, and we'll actually do something today? We'll go out somewhere. Or we could stay in," Jenny could hear the smirk in his voice.

He was just leaning over her when she stood up suddenly, backing her chair into him. Ignoring Giles's exclamation of pain, Jenny went around to the other side of the desk and started packing her tests and supplies into her bag. "I am _not_ skipping work!" she said, obviously on edge, and still keeping her head down. "I can't believe you're even suggesting it! There's-there's something wrong with you, you aren't behaving like yourself."

Giles scoffed in disbelief. He had tolerated Jenny's recent strangeness, but this was too much. "Oh, well, pardon me, but I beg to differ," he said, parodying his own accent and mannerism. "For your information, love, I'm behaving exactly how I feel like behaving, and I feel more 'like myself' than ever, and I don't feel like behaving. Just speak for yourself, alright?"

Jenny had stopped packing. She was standing stalk still, eyes fixed on the tests she was still holding that were shaking in her hand. "What is that supposed to mean?" she said quietly.

"It means _you're_ the one who's not acting normal, being all… uptight, and-and stand-offish… and _look_ at me, for God's sake!" Giles yelled, leaning on the desk towards Jenny.

Jenny's eyes snapped up, glaring darkly with hurt and anger. Giles stood back.

"I'm not acting 'normal'? What am I like 'normally' Rupert? Am I – am I 'fast'? Am I 'easy'?" Giles was taken aback as the volume of Jenny's voice rose exponentially. "I'm _trying_ to act responsibly, and-and _properly_, the way I'm expected to! I don't care if that's not how you want me to act! I don't know what ever possessed me to move in with… to move in…" Jenny was choking up. "Oh I wish I could just go _home_!" she cried and ran to the sofa where she collapsed in a fit of tears.

"Why the hell don't you then!" Giles shouted.

Jenny just continued to sob into the armrest, "pa-papa w-would be so-o dis-a-appointed in me, a-and m-ma-mama a-always hoped I w-would m-marry a-a nice Romany b-boy…"

"Bloody good thing they're both dead then," Giles muttered, though not loud enough for Jenny to hear. He couldn't stand her crying, but he couldn't just leave her like this.

"…I-I-I sh-should ha-a-ave l-listened t-to h-her…" Jenny's wracking sobs continued.

Giles was getting desperate. "Hey, look, Jen, I'm sorry," he went over and knelt in front of her. "Whatever I did, I'm sorry, okay? I promise I'll make it up to you. Just please stop crying," he pleaded, and breathed a sigh of relief when she stifled her sobs. He brushed the hair out of her eyes and drew closer to kiss her.

"R-Rupert, you'll marry me, won't you?" Jenny asked.

Giles stopped short. "Wh-what?" he wasn't sure he'd heard right.

"It's the right thing to do Rupert. We-we –" she blushed, "we've been living together. You have to –"

"_What_!" Giles's voice sounded higher than usual as he sprang to his feet. He didn't remember marriage being part of the deal when they started this arrangement. He sure as hell didn't want to tie himself down with any commitments. Jenny's eyes looked about to spill over again though, so he said, "Y-yeah, of course. In a few years. Y'know, when we're older. Now we're just having fun," and he attempted an endearing smile.

It didn't work though.

"You-you don't care about me at all!" Jenny cried accusingly. "Or-or what I want, if I want children –"

"Children!" This was just going from bad to worse.

"I want a family, Rupert! A-a proper, respectable family, and-and 'in a few years' it will be too late to start one!"

"Yeah, that's the plan," Giles mumbled, realizing too late that he hadn't meant to say that out loud, and that Jenny had heard him.

She was glaring at him worse than ever. "What would you do if I got pregnant?" she asked suspiciously.

"Oh, for chrisakes," Giles muttered and started pacing. He could feel Jenny's glare following him, burning through him like a laser. He stopped and ran his fingers through his hair, focused intently on a spot on the floor, and braced himself for the worst. "I'd take you to a doctor," he said quickly, "or I'd run away." He looked up and pointedly met Jenny's gaze. Her eyes were brimming with tears, rage and unspoken accusations. She looked as if she was about to kill him with her bare hands, but Giles didn't look away.

Finally Jenny grabbed her bag and stormed out, slamming the door behind her.

Giles stared at the door after her. "Where the bloody hell did all that come from?" he wondered out loud and collapsed on the couch. "Ooh, chocolate!" he had spied Jenny's case of band candy. There were four bars left. Giles took one and began eating it gratefully.

He hoped the lie he had told was worth it. He hated to upset Jenny so much, he couldn't imagine leaving her, or doing anything to intentionally hurt her, but he really didn't want her to get any ideas, like "forgetting" to take the pill or something. The very idea scared him stiff.

He hoped Jenny could forget what he had said and wondered if she'd be back to her normal self that evening. Maybe he should get her flowers or something. Until then it would probably be best to avoid her.

What was he going to do all day without her though?

Just then the phone rang. Giles reached for the receiver and picked it up. "Yeah?… Oh, Mrs. Summers… Joyce… actually, I was just about to call in sick, not that I am sick, of course… Why not? I'll bring some records… Cool."


	5. Unclear Clairvoyance

Buffy had been witness to some pretty weird things since becoming a Slayer, and to plenty of icky things too, but tonight was weird and icky in whole new way. Grownups could be embarrassing enough just being normal, but seeing them party like they were young again was like awkwardness to the nth. Why couldn't more of them have been like Willow? Modest and responsible. That would have made this night a whole lot easier stomach.

Having Snyder as a hanger-on didn't help much either. They had a mystery to solve, and couldn't afford to be held up.

"I said, wait up!" the midget principal said, climbing into the car with Buffy, Willow and Oz.

"Uh, Snyder…" Oz pointed out.

"No time. He's coming with us," Buffy replied; they couldn't afford to be held up getting rid of him either.

In a moment they were speeding along. The problem was, Buffy didn't especially know where. They were supposed to be going to Giles's…

"…even if he's sixteen he's still Giles, right? He's probably a pretty together guy." Oz was saying.

Buffy knew better, "Giles at sixteen? Less Together Guy, more Bad-Magic-Hates-The-World-Ticking-Time-Bomb Guy," which was why she wasn't so sure going to his place was such a good idea.

"What about Miss Calendar?" Willow suggested. "She might be able to help us, and you said she was acting normal when you talked to her earlier, Buffy, or, almost normal."

"Yeah, with stress on the 'almost,'" Buffy replied, "it looked like she'd raided an Amish closet."

"Well, Amish is likely more helpful than ticking time bomb," Oz offered.

Buffy hesitated. She hadn't told the others, but Miss Calendar was acting weird in more ways than just dressing like she was competing for the title of Miss Prude '99. She had a serious case of the jitters, for one thing. She was stuttering so much when Buffy asked her where Giles was that Buffy had joked that it sounded like she was channeling his spirit.

It suddenly dawned on Buffy that Miss Calendar had knowingly lied when she said that Giles was home, sick. It hadn't occurred to her earlier because she knew that Miss Calendar was a much better liar than that. But why would she lie about something like that? Did she know Gileswas at Buffy's house with her mom?

Buffy quickly dispelled the notions that were now presenting themselves to her that there was some kind of soap-opera-ish triangle-thing going on between the grownups. There had to be another explanation for Miss Calendar's extreme twitchiness.

"Yeah, okay, maybe she does know something about what's going on," Buffy conceded and stepped on the gas.

* * *

Having left Snyder in the car, and Oz with him to make sure he didn't break anything, Buffy and Willow were soon standing in front of Giles's door. It was still weird for Buffy to think of it as Miss Calendar's door now too. She knocked tentatively.

"Who's there?" she heard Jenny's voice call.

"Miss Calendar? It's us, uh, Willow and me, Buffy."

The door opened a crack and Jenny peered out at them. Only when she saw it really was Buffy and Willow standing there did she open the door all the way, letting the girls in.

"Rupert isn't home yet," she said apologetically, wringing her hands.

"That's okay, we came over to talk to you," Buffy said, making a conscious effort to sound casual and friendly. Miss Calendar was acting even edgier than before.

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Oh, hey, were you doing magic?" Buffy had just noticed the coffee table was littered with occult-looking items. Perhaps her suspicions had been right.

"Cool!" Willow exclaimed and went over for a closer look.

"What? Oh. No. I'm not that good at magic. My parents never let me practice. I'm not supposed to," Jenny rattled on nervously. "I-I w-was just, um –"

"Fortune telling?" Willow supplied enthusiastically, turning away from the intricately carved Ouiji board she had been examining.

Buffy joined Willow to take a closer look. The table was covered with rather old and worn tarot cards – they had probably been passed down for generations – and dishes of funny smelling ashes from herbs that had been burned. On top of it all was the Ouiji board.

"Yeah," Jenny continued in her anxious, apologetic tone, "but it hasn't been going very well. I mean, I've never been especially good at it, but the tarot cards weren't making any sense, and the Ouiji board was saying things that didn't have anything to do with my questions –"

"I thought you need two people to work a Ouiji board," Buffy interjected. Having quickly accepted that her suspicion was wrong, she was finding the idea of fortune telling intriguing.

Willow scoffed, "only the fake toy ones, so that one person can move the pointer."

"But it does work better when more people use it," Jenny explained. "You get a better connection with the spirit realm because more energy is being channeled."

Buffy's eyes suddenly lit up. "Hey, do you think we could use the Ouiji board to find out what's going on?"

"I dunno," Willow said. "Only the owner can ask questions through it, and if it wasn't working for Miss Calendar before…"

"But if one of us used it with her, it would work better, like she said."

Willow looked convinced, but Jenny was puzzled. "What's going on…?" she asked.

"We think there's been a-a spell cast, or something, that's, um, affecting all – or almost all – of the grownups, but we have no idea what's behind it…" Buffy explained, carefully choosing her words so she wouldn't upset Miss Calendar too much.

"A spell?"

"Or something. We don't know for sure, but it's affecting nearly everybody, and maybe the Ouiji board could tell us –"

Jenny didn't need any more convincing. Her face was suddenly set with resolve. "Let's do it."

* * *

Soon Jenny and Willow were sitting cross-legged on the floor, the Ouiji board between them. Buffy was perched on a chair overlooking them, pen and notepad in hand, ready to jot down anything the board spelled out.

"So, what do you want to ask?" Jenny said.

"How 'bout just for some convenient exposition?" Buffy suggested.

"It works better if the question is specific," Jenny said, adding pointedly, "and also if it's polite and respectful. We're sending a general query into the spirit realm and we want to make sure the right sort answers back, and answers nicely."

They sat in silence, trying to think of the right way to word their question.

"Something like, 'what are the forces affecting the citizens of Sunnydale tonight' might work well…" Jenny suggested lamely.

Buffy was eager to get rolling. "Okay, let's go with that," she said.

"O-okay."

Jenny took a deep breath and composed herself as best she could. She looked at Willow and they placed their fingertips on the pointer. Willow smiled when it rose an inch off the board.

Concentrating on the board, Jenny began an invocation, "Inhabitants of the spirit realm, whom are bound neither by space nor time, have pity on us mortals, enlighten us in our ignorance and answer our plea."

When she finished, the pointer glowed faintly. Willow was delighted and Buffy held her pen ready, prepared to jot, but before Jenny had the chance to ask her question, the pointer began to move.

"What's going on?" Buffy asked, concerned.

"I don't know," Willow replied, just as confused.

Jenny, meanwhile, was concentrating too hard on keeping track of the letters to answer right away, _Y-O-U-B-E-L-O-N-G-W-I-T-H-U-S-J-A-N-N-A_, "It's finishing what it was saying before," she whispered, suddenly looking frightened. _I-T-T-O-O-K-Y-O-U-A-W-A-Y – What took me away?_ She thought.

"Buffy, are you writing this down?" Willow asked tensely. The pointer had begun to vibrate.

"Huh? Oh, right! Miss Calendar, just ask the question!"

Jenny gulped and blurted out – "Oh magnanimous spirits, what are the mysterious forces at work in Sunnydale tonight?"

Before all the words were out of her mouth the pointer glowed brighter and began zipping all over the board. It was too fast for Jenny to keep track of in her head, but Buffy was writing as quickly as she could. Then the pointer dimmed and slowed down. It spelled out "N-O-M-O-R-E" and with that it died out completely.

"Buffy, did you get what it said?" Willow asked excitedly.

"Yeah, 'FROM BENEATH YOU IT DEVOURS.'"


	6. Smoke, Tarot Cards, and a Ouiji Board

Jenny had left home that morning with vengeance on her mind. Driving to school she occupied herself thinking of all the curses she could use to punish Rupert for wronging her. It was a futile exercise, however, since they were all too complex for her to pull off by herself. She'd need the help of the elder woman, which meant she couldn't do them at all. After all, she couldn't very well write the elder woman and ask for a spell to curse a lover who'd wronged her. It would be too humiliating. Not to mention she'd probably refuse. 

By the time she pulled into her parking space at school, Jenny was blaming herself for getting into this situation in the first place. She was so upset that she kept losing her train of thought during class and jumped at sudden movements. She nearly freaked out when Buffy came by and asked where Giles was.

_So he hasn't come to school after all. What's gotten into him? Why has he changed?_ Jenny thought it maybe had something to do with her, although she had no idea what she had done.

Jenny's nerves were also suffering from her not having eaten any real food since lunch the day before. She couldn't stop eating that damn band candy, but was afraid of gaining weight, so she was making up for it by not eating anything else, and her blood sugar level was taking the toll.

When she got home and saw the oatmeal she had made that morning still on the stove (Rupert hadn't even bothered to turn off the element, the pot was ruined, and he could have started a fire) it reminded her of that morning's fight and, sinking to the kitchen floor in despair, she broke down into tears.

Jenny felt so confused. Nothing was the way it was supposed to be, and she didn't know what to do to change it. If only she knew what to expect, what would happen next, then she could plan for it and she wouldn't be so scared. And, coming to think of it, she did have ways of finding out exactly that.

Jenny's fortune-telling skills had never been anything to write home about, but she was competent. She was, after all, a gypsy.

As Jenny got to her feet to prepare the materials she would need her heart felt lighter at the prospect of thing suddenly becoming a whole lot clearer.

The only problem was, they didn't

She tried burning herbs first – the most general form of fortune telling – but didn't see signs of anything other than death and vampires; in other words, business as usual on the Hellmouth.

She tried tarot-reading next – which was much more specific than herb-smoke – but that only reminded her of why she was never keen on tarot cards in the first place. It was too much to remember what they all meant, and when they were in different positions and combinations they meant different things. The bottom line was, they weren't making any sense for her.

As a last resort, Jenny turned to the Ouiji board. It couldn't tell her anything about the future, only clarify the past and the present, but at least it spelled everything out nice and clearly.

Sitting cross-legged on the couch with the Ouiji board balanced on her knees, Jenny placed her fingers on the pointer and it rose an inch off the board. She recited the invocation and it glowed faintly.

The first thing she asked was "Who is my true love" and was relieved when it spelled out "R-U-P-E-R-T-G-I-L-E-S."

She worded her next question to get as clear an indication of what the future held as possible, "All-seeing spirits, tell me what is in my true love's heart, would he ever leave me?"

Again she was relieved when it pointed at "No" but was surprised when its answer didn't end there, but continued, "Y-O-U-L-E-F-T-H-I-M." For a moment Jenny thought it was referring to the time after she had been possessed by Eyghon and was annoyed that it had brought it up, but it went on, "T-O-J-O-I-N-U-S."

"What?" Jenny exclaimed, more out of surprise than as an actual question, but it answered her anyways, explaining "Y-O-U-A-R-E-D-E-A-D."

In a fright Jenny broke the connection and tossed the Ouiji board onto the coffee table. Now she understood why the tarot cards hadn't made any sense: how could she have a future if she was already dead? And it explained what she saw in the smoke too – death and vampires – she was dead, a vampire had killed her.

But then why was she here? She was walking and talking and breathing. She could see herself in the mirror and could go out in daylight. She was definitely alive. Perhaps the spirits were getting their tenses mixed up, but they weren't supposed to know the future anyhow. It didn't make any sense. Maybe it had just been a malevolent spirit playing tricks. That must have been it.

Despite this logical explanation, Jenny was still on edge, pacing the apartment and wringing her hands.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door.


	7. Crash

"From beneath you it devours," Buffy repeated. "Well, that's nice and vague. I never knew spirits could be so unhelpful." 

"I'm sorry it didn't work out, Buffy," Jenny said as she got to her feet, obviously shaken.

"Naw, it's okay. It was my idea. I should have known that if there was an easy way to track down evilness Giles would have known about it already."

"D-do you know where he is?" Jenny asked timidly.

"Not exactly," Buffy replied.

Jenny began wringing her hands again. It was weird for Buffy to see Miss Calendar so jittery and insecure. She was usually so collected and with it.

"I'm sure Giles is fine, he can take care of himself." Willow said kindly.

Jenny, however, didn't look any less nervous.

"Anyways, we gotta go now, find out what's going on and stop it." Buffy said, turning to leave.

"Wait! Don't leave me alone," Jenny cried, and added, embarrassed, "I'm scared."

Buffy sighed. "Then come with us. Let's just get gone."

* * *

"What took so long?" Oz asked when they got back to the car. "Snyder's getting itchy feet." 

"We were finding out why Ouiji boards were just a fad," Buffy said, slamming her door and starting the ignition.

Willow was rubbing her shoulder as she sat down in the front passenger seat. "I think I pulled something," she said.

"What's he doing here?" Jenny asked, getting in and seeing Snyder sitting on the other side of Oz.

"Hello to you too, Miss F.O.B." Snyder remarked, taking in Jenny's outfit.

"Just ignore him," Buffy said and stepped on the gas.

"Hey! I'm not buckled up yet!" Jenny exclaimed, fumbling with her seat belt.

"Here," Oz said, fastening the buckle for her. "By the way, I like the kerchief."

"Thanks," Jenny blushed and looked out the window. "Uh, Buffy, I don't think you should be going so fast."

Buffy glanced at the dashboard. "I'm under the limit," she said.

"Uh, actually, Buffy, that's the fuel gauge. The speedometer is that one," Willow pointed out.

"Oh. Right." Buffy slowed down.

"Where are we going anyways?" Jenny asked.

The words were barely out of her mouth when suddenly Willow yelled, "Oh my God! Look out!"

With the sickening noise of metal crunching against metal, the car was rammed by a speeding jeep and spun out of control.

* * *

By the time Jenny had caught her breath and was fully cognizant again of what was going on around her, the other driver had run away and everyone else was outside, inspecting the damage. Jenny was still too shaken to move however, and stayed glued to her seat in the car, watching and listening as Buffy and the others figured out what was going on. She was only half-paying attention, however. Her mind was already so full of worries she could hardly absorb any more. She did take note of the fact that the chocolate was the cause of all this strangeness, however. 

Soon Buffy was hopping back in the car again and Snyder was climbing into the backseat as Jenny eyed him distrustfully.

"Oh. Miss Calendar," Buffy said as if she had forgotten she was there, "are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine." Jenny replied distantly.

"Why don't you go with the others then – "

"I want to stay with you!" Jenny was suddenly frightened at the prospect of leaving Buffy and the protection she provided. "Can I go with you?" she added, more timidly.

"Okay, whatever," Buffy agreed as she turned on the ignition. She was getting tired of Miss Calendar's helpless behaviour.

"And can I sit up front?"

"Fine! Just hurry up!" Buffy snapped.

Jenny looked taken aback, but moved quickly. As bad tempered as Buffy was, Jenny preferred to sit next to her than Snyder.

Buffy took out her frustration on the gas pedal, and they sped away. She took care to slow down at the next intersection, however, and looked both ways. Turning her head to her right she saw Jenny gazing anxiously out the window, wringing her hands, and she regretted her earlier harshness.

She couldn't blame Miss Calendar for being an insecure teenager any more than she could blame Giles for being a rebellious one. Both adults were just about as different from their teenaged selves as they could be, albeit in completely opposite ways. _Talk about a mismatched couple_. It occurred to Buffy how weird it must have been for Amish Girl and Bad-Magic-Hates-The-World-Ticking-Time-Bomb Guy to suddenly find themselves together and not with the people they thought they knew at all.

"Miss Calendar, are you alright?" Buffy asked tentatively.

"Hm? Oh, yes, fine. I'm fine Buffy" Jenny replied absently.

"'Cause if you're worried about Giles you can tell me about it. I know he was probably acting… un-Giles-y today, because of the spell, but you have to remember it's _just_ because of the spell. And I'm going to stop it. I'm going to solve this thing and you'll both be your old selves again in no time, behaving inappropriately in front of the students and everything," Buffy attempted to finish with some humour.

Unfortunately, the entire pep talk was a colossal failure. After a few tries at sniffling back her tears, Jenny broke down completely. Buffy didn't understand everything Jenny was saying in between sobs, but she got the gist of it, and was pretty sure she didn't want to know the details.

_"You can tell me" – four little words I am _never_ saying again_, Buffy thought ruefully. She was relieved when they at last arrived at the factory Snyder said the chocolate was ordered from.

"Okay, we're here. Miss Calendar, why don't you stay in the car," Buffy suggested carefully. Jenny was still sniffling and Buffy was worried about causing another outburst. "I know you're scared – "

"Of vampires," Jenny nodded.

" – but there will probably be fighting out there --"

"Fighting?" Snyder interjected nervously.

Buffy ignored him and continued, "You'll be safer in here. Just lock the doors and you'll be fine. The widows are shatterproof and you can lie down on the backseat so no one will see you. Okay?"

"Okay," Jenny looked relieved to have someone tell her so explicitly what to do.

"Seen you soon," Buffy closed the car door and strode briskly towards the factory, where a large and rowdy crowd had already gathered.

"M-maybe I should go back and keep her company," Snyder suggested, scurrying to keep up with Buffy.

She didn't even bother to answer him. She just glared at him as the passed a couple making out.

_Yeesh, get a room, people_! Buffy thought before she stopped dead in her tracks, having realized she recognized the pair. She doubled back. "Mom? Giles!" she asked in disbelief.

"Go away. We're busy." Giles said without skipping a beat.

This was too much.

"Hey!" Joyce exclaimed as Buffy pulled her away from Giles.

Buffy wasn't paying any attention to her though. She was too busy socking Giles in the jaw.

"_Ow_! _F---_! What the bloody hell was that for?" Giles swore.

"For cheating on Miss Calendar with _my mom_! You-you big jerk-bag!"

Giles looked like he was about to hit Buffy back, but seeing she was prepared to fight, he thought better of it and rubbed his jaw instead. "That's none of you're business" he muttered.

"Yeah. God! Cool it Buffy, we're just having some fun." Joyce added defensively.

"Yeah, we were just having fun," Giles repeated and tried to assume a nonchalant pose, putting an arm around Joyce again.

Buffy stared at them both as if in shock, but looked at Giles with a certain kind of disgust. "God, I can't believe you! I've just been listening to Miss Calendar cry her eyes out over you, and you don't even care!" she yelled.

Giles shifted uncomfortably and tried to look anywhere but at Buffy. He did care, actually, he just didn't want anybody to know that he was anything but cool and confident. He hadn't thought of Jenny much that day, true, but he was only having a bit of fun. He didn't mean her any harm. He certainly didn't think she was crying over him. Planning to kill him, maybe, especially judging by the look in her eyes when she left that morning, but he could deal with that. He didn't like to think that he had made Jenny cry, again. He could be such an idiot that way. He wanted to ask Buffy where Jenny was, he wanted to go to her, but he couldn't bring himself to do anything other than scoff and turn away.

* * *

It wasn't until later that evening, however, when they (Buffy, Giles, Joyce and Snyder) were about to go to the hospital to save a bunch of infants from becoming demon treats that Giles had occasion to really worry about Jenny. 

Once everybody had piled into the car, Buffy looked around at them all and asked, "Okay, is everyody in? Good. Let's get gone – Wait," she suddenly looked seriously concerned. "Where's Miss Calendar?"

"Oh yeah… where'd she go?" Snyder wondered aloud.

"Jenny? Is she supposed to be here?" Giles asked, clearly worried.

"She was supposed to wait in the car for us," Buffy explained, exasperated. She jumped out of the car again; Giles followed her.

"Miss Calendar?" she called, frantically searching the vicinity for any clue of where Jenny could have gone.

"Jenny?" Giles yelled.

Buffy quickly circled the area. It seemed to be the center of a maze of dark alleyways, any one of which Miss Calendar could have wandered down, or been taken… Buffy didn't want to think about it. She couldn't, there wasn't time. She headed resolutely back to the car.

"C'mon, let's go," she said to Giles as she passed him.

"Do you know where she is?" he asked anxiously, getting into the front passenger seat and slamming the door.

Buffy started the car and drove off. "No," she said.

"Then where are you going? Go back! We have to find her!" Giles protested.

"We'll find her, Giles, okay? Just now, we don't have time! We have to save some babies from becoming snack food."

"She's a grown woman. She can take care of herself," Joyce added, obviously annoyed by Giles's distress.

Seeing that there was nothing he could do about the situation, Giles stared broodingly out the car window.

"Look," Buffy said, trying to reassure herself as much as her Watcher, "the doors were locked, there was no sign of a struggle. She probably just got bored of waiting for us and went home."

Giles nodded but wasn't able to stop worrying about Jenny for the rest of the night. It was as if he was only half there. He wasn't really paying attention when Buffy asked where the demon Laconis could be, but she managed to figure out that it was underground herself anyways, saying something about "from beneath you it devours."

He had acted like such an idiot towards Jenny; Giles wondered how he could have been so dense. Of course, she wasn't behaving like her usual self either, but then, that was probably his fault somehow too.

Giles wondered what he had done to make such a mess of things. He still couldn't think of anything specific, though, by the time the newborns were safe and sound back in the hospital and he was parting ways with Buffy and Joyce.

Buffy was just saying how the shock of having infants kidnapped from the maternity ward seemed to have brought many of the hospital staff to their senses, and they'd hopefully act more like adults now, when something very strange happened to Giles.

In a flash his surroundings disappeared and he was standing in the doorway of his own bedroom, facing his bed. Jenny was lying on it, and he smiled to see her there. Then he noticed the strange angle her head was at and his breath caught in his throat. He stood there waiting for her to move, to notice him there and smile, but she just lay still, dark eyes empty and unblinking. Giles choked. Something slipped from his hand and smashed on the floor.

In another flash the room disappeared and he was standing on the street at night, Buffy and her mother staring at him as if he had just sprouted a third ear in the middle of his head.

"You alright there, Giles?" Buffy asked.

"Yeah, I-I'm fine," Giles replied, stumbling a bit as he looked around, gaining his bearings.

"You kinda froze up there for a moment." Buffy continued, concerned.

Giles wasn't paying attention. "Uh huh. Bye." He mumbled, and with that he ran off down the street, leaving Buffy and Joyce completely puzzled.

* * *

Giles's apartment was only a few blocks away, and he was running harder than he ever had before in his life. He couldn't get there soon enough, but was dreading what he would find when he did. 


	8. Nightmares

Jenny had been happy enough to do what Buffy had told her. It was funny, but she felt safer locked in the car than she did alone in her own apartment. As soon as Buffy left, Jenny climbed into the backseat and lay down. It had been an emotionally exhausting day and within seconds Jenny was dozing off. 

However, her repose didn't last long. She had just slipped off to sleep when she started to dream.

She was in a cave, looking down through billowing black smoke at a circle of cloaked figures seated around a blazing fire. A tall flame licked upwards and went right through her, feeling like a breath of warm air. The air was thick with chants and the scent of burning herbs, together with the heat they were making Jenny's head spin. It felt like she was flying in circles around the cave. Then suddenly everything stopped and Jenny was face-to-face with one of the cloaked beings. It was a hideous face, wrinkled and eyeless, like a creature that was never meant to see the light, with skin stretched over its sockets and strange symbols branded where eyes should be. The thing uttered something that Jenny couldn't understand, and she woke up with a start.

In her fright Jenny rushed out of the car, desperate to find Buffy and tell her what she saw. As she approached the crowd outside of the factory, she caught sight of Buffy and started towards her, but stopped short when she saw her pull back her fist and land a punch on – Rupert?

"_Ow_! _F---_! What the bloody hell was that for!" It was definitely Rupert's voice although his accent sounded different. Jenny was baffled, until she heard what Buffy said, or rather, shouted, next:

"For cheating on Miss Calendar with _my mom_! You-you big jerk-bag!"

Jenny's breath caught in her throat. She felt numb.

Giles muttered something that Jenny didn't catch, and then the trashily dressed woman that Jenny only recognized now was Joyce Summers replied defensively, "Yeah. God! Cool it Buffy, we're just having some fun."

"Yeah, we were just having fun," Giles repeated casually and put his arm around Joyce.

Jenny's brain was having trouble absorbing what she was seeing and hearing, but it got through to her heart effectively enough, like a great knife slashing through her.

Against her will Jenny's eyes were welling up with tears. It wasn't fair; she didn't want to cry over him anymore. She couldn't bear to see him any longer; she wanted to be rid of him. Jenny turned from the crowd and ran away, no longer bothered by fears of vampires or death.

Since her dream, she didn't remember what the Ouiji board had said to her at all.

* * *

Jenny wandered all over Sunnydale, from the docks to downtown, through alleys and parks, and all twelve cemeteries, lost within her own confused emotions, not aware of where she was or where she was going.

She wanted to go to someone who would sooth her, tell her it wasn't her fault, that there were plenty of fish in the sea, and that she deserved someone better. But there was no one like that to go to. Her own mother hadn't been that comforting, and Jenny didn't even have her. So she just wandered aimlessly while competing thoughts of anger and grief, indignation and blame, uncertainty and fear flooded her head.

By the time she found herself standing in front of her apartment complex every negative emotion she could imagine had passed through her heart, and she had cried the last tear she could muster a long time ago. She felt empty; emotionally and physically wrung out. Now she had to decide what to do next.

After an excessively emotional night, Jenny paced slowly in front of the complex with in an unexpectedly practical state of mind. One thing that she knew for sure was that she had to go to sleep that night. She would go to bed and lock the door from the inside. Then, first thing in the morning, she would pack her bags and check in to a motel, where she would stay until she decided what she would do next. At first Jenny considered going back to her clan. After all, with Angel gone there was no reason for her to stay in Sunnydale anymore. The thought of living on her own, however, gave Jenny a certain thrill of excitement that she didn't want to give up right away. It made her feel… grown up. So she would stay on her own for a while.

Thus resolved upon the course of action she would take, Jenny turned to head inside. What she actually turned to face, however, was a vampire.

Jenny had been so lost in thought that she hadn't noticed it approaching. Now it stood there, it's yellow, soulless eyes inches from her own brown ones, which were wide with fear. Before she even had a chance to scream, the demon was upon her, sinking its fangs into her neck.


	9. Back to the Hospital

The vampire had barely begun its meal, however, before another vamp rudely interrupted it. 

"Hey!" The second, much taller vampire shouted as it strode towards the first, "Orders are: no snacking tonight!"

The first vampire raised it's head, revealing a mouth rimmed with Jenny's blood, and whined, "But it's only one, and the offering's probably over now anyways…" he trailed off as the newcomer came threateningly close, glowering down at him.

"The Mayor's orders are: no feeding until the spell wears off. That's the rule. Now, are you going to follow it, or am I going to have to enforce it?"

It was then that the first vampire noticed that not only did he have a distinct size disadvantage, but also that the other vamp was gripping a stake, and, as his menacing smile indicated, would be only too glad to use it. He didn't need to be told again. "I'm following!" he said, hoisting Jenny's limp body out of his arms for the other vampire to catch before scampering away.

The second vampire snickered to himself as he watched the other one vanish around the corner, and then turned to look hungrily at Jenny's neck. "She's as good as dead anyways," he shrugged and leaned over to finish her off. Before he could, however, he heard rapidly approaching footsteps, and looked up just in time to see a fist coming straight for his face.

Giles managed to get another couple of punches in before the vampire dropped Jenny and his stake to the ground so that he could fight back. Having just run a few blocks, Giles was winded and his reflexes were not as sharp as they should have been. With a few hits the vampire knocked him to the ground. By lucky chance Giles fell within arm's reach of the stake the vampire had dropped. He grabbed it and held it above himself just as the vampire lunged at him.

Before the vampire's dust had a chance to settle, Giles was at Jenny's side.

"Oh God! Jenny?" he breathed. She was unconscious but, he was relieved to see, still breathing, although only just barely. Giles carried her inside and dialed 911.

The time it took for the ambulance to arrive felt like an eternity. Giles knelt by Jenny, watching her attentively, willing her to keep on breathing. He was so desperate he may even have said a prayer. At last he heard the sirens of the ambulance and saw its flashing lights through his window.

Then it happened again.

Giles suddenly found himself leaning back against the wall by his front door, not taking any notice of the policemen that were swarming around. He no longer felt anxious, but was sick to his stomach all the same, and there was a strange droning in his head as he struggled to come to terms with the reality of what happened.

A police officer approached him, "Mr. Giles, I need to ask you to come with us –"

Then in a flash it all disappeared.

Giles was watching Jenny being lifted onto a stretcher and a paramedic was asking him urgently what had happened.

Giles forced the disturbing vision from his mind. He had to make sure Jenny was taken care of now. "Uh-uh, sh-sh-she was bitten, uh, b-by something. Some-some animal. I-I-I don't know. But she's lost a-a-a lot of blood," he told the paramedic as he followed him outside towards the ambulance.

"Uh huh," the paramedic nodded, as he climbed in the ambulance after the stretcher and indicated to Giles to follow him. "What blood-type is she?"

Giles climbed into the ambulance and slammed the doors behind him. "Uh… AB," he said, as the ambulance drove off, sirens blaring. He watched anxiously as they bandaged Jenny's neck and put an oxygen mask over her face.

"We get more cases like this than you'd think," one of the paramedics, a different one from before, said conversationally.

"Really?" Giles replied, pretending to be surprised, or even interested.

"Yeah, dude. Neck rupture is like a serious problem in this town. Which is good news for her because it means we're old pros at treating it."

Giles wasn't so reassured. His suspicion that the paramedic's youthful confidence was candy-induced was reinforced when the ambulance took a sharp turn at high speed and the paramedic whooped as if on a roller coaster.

* * *

It turned out that Jenny's condition was indeed more serious than the paramedic originally assessed. When they arrived at emergency, she was rushed to intensive care and Giles was left in the waiting room to fill out forms. After he was done with the paper work he paced restlessly and chewed his fingernails to the quick, looking up expectantly every time a nurse or orderly entered the room.

At last a doctor with a serious face and the flustered manner of an overwhelmed babysitter approached.

"Is she going to be alright, Doctor?" Giles asked quietly.

"We don't know," the doctor sighed in reply, "We've given her a transfusion and done everything for her that we can, but her condition is still unstable. She might not wake up," he paused to give Giles time to absorb this information before continuing in a less blunt tone, "I suggest you go home and get some sleep. Come back in the morning. We should know by then, one way or another…"

"I'd rather stay here."

"Of course," the doctor nodded and turned away, leaving Giles standing there, staring into space.


	10. Growing Up and Making Up

In the morning, however, Jenny's condition hadn't changed. 

Giles still refused to go home. He didn't want to take the chance of not being there for her, if anything changed, one way or the other. So they let him stay in Jenny's room. He entered it nervously, as if embarrassed he didn't knock first, and choked up when he saw her lying so still on the bed, hooked up to machines that were monitoring her status. At the same time, though, he was relieved to see her there. In the waiting room he had battled to keep the vision of Jenny's lifeless body and empty gaze from his mind; it was comforting to see her actually there and to watch her chest rise and fall gently with every breath.

Giles had stayed awake all night in the waiting room, alternately pacing and watching the commotion of the emergency ward from his uncomfortable plastic chair. Now, in the relative quiet and comfort of a private room he felt himself nodding off. Despite his best efforts to stay conscious, he was soon fast asleep.

* * *

Giles woke up disoriented, not quite remembering where he was. He saw Jenny lying quite still on a bed, her head turned towards him, and started.

"Do I really look that bad without my makeup?" she quipped dryly.

"Jenny! You're alright!" Giles leaned forward in his chair, almost laughing with relief, though with tears in his eyes. He felt compelled to embrace Jenny, but cautious of her delicate state, only grasped her hand in both of his.

Jenny was somewhat alarmed. "Goddess, was I really that bad?"

Giles didn't really want to answer that. "I should go get the doctor," he said instead.

"No it's okay, Rupert," Jenny said before he could get up, "I've seen about a dozen doctors already. I woke up a couple of hours ago." Seeing Giles was taken aback by this information, she added, "I asked them not to wake you up."

"Oh, I'm sorry –"

"Don't be. You were awake when it mattered. That's why I'm still here."

"No, you'd more likely than not be safe at home, if not for me; if I hadn't conducted myself like such a-a-a callous ignoramus–"

"Well, it sounds like you're back to your old self again," Jenny smiled.

Giles, however, persisted in taking blame upon himself. "Actually, I'm at a loss for words," he said (Jenny raised her eyebrows skeptically), "I-I don't think I can communicate my-my regret and-and shame over my recent actions. I was loathsome and-and unforgivable. I wouldn't blame you if –"

"Hey, cut it out. I'm forgiving you; get used to it. Blame yourself as much as you want, but I don't want to hear about it," Jenny said assertively. "In fact, I don't want to even talk about the whole ordeal ever again."

"Oh." Giles was puzzled. "Why?"

"Because," Jenny sighed, hesitating before deciding Giles was entitled to an explanation, "I'm not too proud of how I behaved either."

Giles looked even more confused than before.

"I was such an obedient, goody-two-shoes, weak-willed wimp –"

"No you weren't –"

"It doesn't matter. I cringe when I remember what I was like at sixteen. I never wanted anybody to know I used to be like that. So please, never mention it again."

Giles nodded, and for the first time seriously considered how opposed to her teenage self the Jenny he loved was. "What made you change?" he asked tentatively.

"I learned to think for myself."

Giles thought about this briefly before speaking again, "Uh, J-Jenny, wh-while I was I-in the, uh, waiting room, uh, waiting, I was thinking about, about us…"

"Oh?"

"…and about what I could do to-to, uh, make us, uh, work better… should I be so lucky to get that chance…" Giles looked away uncomfortably as he spoke.

"I guess I really was in a pretty bad way," Jenny muttered.

"And I-I think it would be, ah, beneficial if we had a-a schedule –"

"A schedule?" Jenny was taken aback by the suggestion, but also couldn't help but smile a little at the Gilesy-ness of it.

"Yes," he continued, turning a bit pink, "or-or-or, a-a certain time set aside during the week, to, uh spend time together… doing, uh, stuff," Giles finished awkwardly.

Jenny considered the proposition for a moment. "Good plan," she smiled, "count me in."

"Oh, good." Giles smiled, relieved. "I-I thought, um, Friday and Saturday evenings would be good…"

"Those _are_ the nights traditionally set aside for dating," Jenny agreed teasingly.

"Oh, right, that's true," Giles smiled a bit at himself. He obviously hadn't thought of that fact until Jenny pointed it out.

"Why did you want to go out on those nights?" Jenny asked curiously.

"Because, uh, there usually seems to be less, ah, paranormal activity towards the end of the week, for some reason…. Is something funny?"

"No, I'm just happy to have my ever-practical Rupert Giles back," Jenny grinned.

After almost twenty-four hours of trying to prepare himself for the worst, Giles felt incredibly grateful just to be sitting next to Jenny. He wanted to tell so, but couldn't think of how to without sounding like an idiot. Jenny could see it in his eyes though. It was a look she had seen few times before; it was almost tragic and it tore at her heart.

"I love you, Rupert," she said with a small smile.

Giles couldn't reply; he was blinking back tears.

_Goddess, I _really_ must have been in a bad way_, Jenny thought. She studied the hem of her blanket a while to give Giles time to compose himself. She supposed she could make more of an effort herself. She used to get involved a lot more in the whole team research and fighting thing. Since her experience with Angel last spring, however, she had tried to distance herself from all that, wanting to create a life apart from the violence and the horror. But boy, did that effort sure go nowhere. She knew it was impossible. She was in love with a Watcher; vampires, demons and monsters were going to be a permanent part of her life. Willow and Xander didn't let the life-threatening consequences stop them from being friends with Buffy, how could she let them stop her from being with Giles? Anyways, life always has its dangers, whether they're Hellmouth-born or not. She'd have to accept it and fight the good fight.

She glanced up at Giles, he looked as if he hadn't slept at all.

"You should go home, Rupert. Get some sleep," she said gently.

"I suppose I should," he replied but didn't move. He looked very reluctant to go anywhere.

"It's quarter to seven already –" Jenny told him, glancing at her bedside clock.

"What? At night?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, dammit. I didn't call in to school today. And Buffy has no idea what happened…"

"Then maybe you should go tell her."

"I suppose so…" Giles still had a hard time leaving. He brought Jenny's hand to his lips and kissed it before getting to his feet and heading out the door. Before he left he turned around and said, "So we're set for Friday night?"

"It's a date," Jenny grinned.

"Goodnight then."

"'Night."

And with one last small smile Giles left.

Jenny sighed and snuggled into her hospital bed. Despite the near-death experience her heart was lighter than it had been for weeks.

* * *

Giles, however, still had something to worry about. As soon as he left Jenny's room he became lost in thought, so much so that he didn't even notice the people he was passing in the hospital corridors until he heard someone call out, "Hey! Giles!"

Looking up he saw three familiar faces coming towards him. "Buffy! Willow, Xander. I'm sorry, I-I was, uh, preoccupied…. Uh, is-is something wrong, Willow?" She was looking him up and down in the most peculiar manner.

"What? Oh, no," she said, wide-eyed and rattled on, "it's just, you're not wearing tweed, or even a suit, I'm used to seeing you in a suit, and you're wearing, uh, jeans…"

Giles just looked at her. Willow could be so very odd at times.

"Didn't you go home last night, Giles?" Buffy asked, concerned.

"No, actually, something, uh, something happened… but why are you here? Is something wrong?" Giles asked in return, just as concerned.

"We don't know yet. We came looking for you."

"Oh!"

"Yeah, when you and Miss Calendar didn't show up today and weren't home we figured there were only so many places you could have gone –"

"We narrowed it down to three," Xander interjected. "I voted for checking out Vegas first. You know, in case you crazy kids had eloped, but these two buzz-kills chose the hospital."

"What was the third place?"

"The morgue. But we're all optimists." Xander smiled.

"So, what happened?" Buffy asked.

Giles explained about Jenny's close call. When he was done all three of the kids looked shaken.

"So, you're sure she's going to be alright?" Willow asked nervously.

"She seems quite herself, and the doctor said she'll make a full recovery."

"Good."

Xander tried to lighten the mood, "You're becoming quite an old hand at this life-saving thing, Giles. You'd better watch out for him, Buff, he's after you're job."

"Actually, would you two mind if I had a private word with Buffy?" Giles asked politely.

"We'll go tell Jenny to get well soon," Willow answered.

As she and Xander turned the corner, Willow glanced back at Giles and murmured more to herself than to anyone in particular, "I didn't even think Giles owned jeans…"

"The man wears denim, so what?" Xander replied.

Once the friends were gone, Giles turned sheepishly towards Buffy, "Uh, how's your mother?" he asked.

"Mortified. But I think she'll live."

"I-I was wondering, uh, if you could extend my apologies to her for-for being, uh…"

"A jerk-bag?" Buffy supplied helpfully.

Giles nodded, embarrassed.

"Will do. Don't be too hard on yourself though, okay? Spells happen. Just be glad I got to you two before you actually _did_ anything."

"That's true."

"Did you tell Miss Calendar what happened?"

"No, and I don't ever intend to."

"Good. Now I have something to blackmail you with."

Giles just glared at Buffy, half in warning, half genuinely concerned.

"I'm kidding Giles!" Buffy grinned, rolling her eyes good-naturedly.

"Oh. Ha. Funny." Giles said nervously. "You know, I should be getting home now anyways."

"Good, you look like you need the sleep."

"Yes, eventually. But I have a spot of research to do first," he told her, looking over his shoulder as he left.

Buffy smiled and shook her head as she stared after him. Giles was definitely back to his old self.


	11. The Meaning of Dreams

Author's Note: References to how this AU's altered Season 2 are made in this chapter, as well as to "More Than Anything" by Dollsome (which, as I said, is the fic that created the AU my fic takes place in). It's not that important, i just thought you might like to be forwarned.

* * *

When Buffy, Willow and Xander dropped in on the library the next morning, they found Giles at the study table, surrounded by books, yawning and rubbing his blood-shot eyes.

"God, Giles, didn't you go to sleep at all last night?" Buffy asked.

Giles looked up from the volume he was perusing, "Oh, hello. No, actually, I've been researching."

"There's something to research and you didn't tell us?" Willow said, sincerely disappointed.

"Yeah, Giles. You know we hate to miss out on those all-night research parties," Xander added sarcastically.

Buffy laid down her book bag and perched herself on the edge of the study table. "So, what's the sitch?" she asked. "The last time you pulled a lone all-nighter like this it was about my destiny date with death."

"Don't worry, it's nothing that serious by far," Giles replied, closing his book and pushing it aside. He took off his glasses and cleaned them as he continued, "In fact, it's rather trivial. I-I just had a-a rather, um, unusual dream yesterday while I was at the hospital. I wanted to write it down and figure out what it might mean while it was still fresh in my mind. But unfortunately my analysis hasn't been progressing very well…" He replaced his glasses to see Buffy, Willow and Xander exchanging worried looks.

"You had a dream while Miss Calendar was unconscious?" Buffy asked.

"Yes…"

"What about?"

"Uh, um, well… it-it doesn't really matter. There's no reason it should mean anything at all, really," Giles said, unconvincingly.

"Did it involve Angel?"

Giles was rather taken aback. "Uh, in a manner of speaking… why?"

Willow jumped in to answer Giles's query before Buffy could reply. "Jenny didn't really want us to say. It's probably nothing–"

"But I'm starting to think it might not be," Buffy interrupted. She turned to her Watcher and said seriously, "Giles, last night Miss Calendar told us that while she was unconscious, she dreamed that Angel killed her."

"She didn't want to worry you about it," Willow explained.

Giles stood up and began methodically gathering the books that were scattered over the table as he spoke. "No, I'm glad you told me. It's most unusual… did she tell you the, uh, the details of wh-what happened?"

"Uh, yeah," Buffy answered. "She, um, she said the dream took place during the time Angel lost his soul – the, uh, first time – when she was working on her translation program. It was the night you saved her from Angel, only you weren't there, so… well, she said it was really weird because she said the dream happened in bits and pieces, or something like that. Only she described it better. It would probably be best if you asked her about it."

Lost in thought, Giles just nodded in response.

"So, any ideas about what's going on?" Xander asked.

Having finished stacking the books in neat piles, Giles leaned against the bookcase as he considered. "Well… the fact that Jenny and I dreamed about the same, uh, e-events, and at the same time, seems to indicates that they aren't normal nightmares. But as for what they could mean, I-I haven't the foggiest. I'll call Jenny and broaden my research. You lot had better get to class."

Before anyone turned to go, though, Willow asked, "How is Jenny doing?"

"Quite a bit better. I drove her home from the hospital this morning," Giles answered, stifling a yawn.

Buffy slung her bag over her shoulder again and said, "Tell her to get well soon from us, okay?"

Giles nodded and smiled as the students left to start their day.

* * *

Giles understood what Buffy meant by dreaming "in bits and pieces" because he had the same sort of dream. Scenes and events had faded in and out of his mind sporadically, more in order of emotional intensity than chronology: Elated anticipation was suddenly displaced by a flood of horror when he discovered Jenny's body…. Buffy had pulled him out of a burning factory and the grief that had been building up inside him finally overflowed…. Blind with vengeful rage he was bludgeoning Angel as flames spread around them…. He was lying on his sofa, alone in his apartment, consumed by hopeless despair…. He was kneeling, laying flowers on Jenny's grave, battling grief and forcing forgiveness for the girl standing besides him. She was all he had now…. A cautious kind of happy anticipation was growing in his heart as he said goodnight to Jenny and left the school.

Giles had written each of these scenes down, along with the emotions and knowledge that accompanied them. For example, he had known from his first vision that it was Angel that had killed Jenny, even though it was by no means explicit.

The last scene in the sequence was the most puzzling of all. It was different from the others because it took place in the future. Jenny had been dead for five years, yet he was still thinking about her. He was walking through a cemetery and found himself in front of her grave. Then in an instant it was gone. For a split moment he had seen a hideous, wrinkled visage, and then events as they had really occurred that day replayed themselves in Giles's head like a movie.

* * *

"Hello, Jenny?" Giles had phoned her to verify the details of her dream. "How are you feeling?"

"A bit groggy, but pretty good, considering. I've mostly been napping today."

"Oh, I hope I'm not disturbing you."

Jenny's voice suddenly turned cold, "Well, yeah, you are. After getting me into this state the least you could do is leave me alone to recover."

"Oh. All right then. Sorry…" Giles said, moving the receiver away from his mouth as if to hang up. His voice sounded disappointed, but a smile was playing about his lips.

"Hey, hey, hey! I didn't say you could hang up!"

"But you want to be left alone," Giles said, and he couldn't help smiling to himself.

"You know very well I don't!" Jenny scolded him, and continued pouting, "You know me too well. I can't trick you anymore."

"And that's bad?"

"Totally! You're sexy when you're flustered."

"Am I?" Giles knew perfectly well that Jenny thought so. He didn't understand why, but he enjoyed hearing it.

"Uh huh. Well, I'll see if I can catch you off-guard on Friday," Jenny teased.

"I'll look forward to it," Giles smiled before becoming serious. "Anyways, Jenny, I wanted to ask you about the dream you had yesterday—"

"What?"

"Buffy and the others told me about it. She thought it was unusual enough to warrant concern—"

"I didn't have a dream yesterday."

"You-you didn't? But they said… you aren't just having me on, are you?"

"No! That would make a pretty lame trick. Maybe the… wait a sec… I do remember something… yeah, I remember telling Buffy, Willow and Xander about a dream yesterday, but… but I can't for the life of me remember what it was about."

"Oh, well, that-that can happen sometimes, with dreams," Giles said, trying to sound offhand.

"I guess it couldn't have been anything too weird?"

"No, I suppose not. It sounded rather curious is all. But I'm sure it's nothing significant."

* * *

In fact, Jenny not being able to remember her dream only convinced Giles all the more that it was significant. There likely had been a spell to make Jenny forget. Unfortunately, that cancelled out Giles's previous number one theory that the dreams had been the result of a spell. Why would anybody cast a spell to make them dream something, and then cast another spell to make them forget? It didn't make sense. But if the dreams weren't the products of a spell, what were they? Sitting down at his desk Giles removed his glasses and massaged his temples as he thought it through.

There were three basic sorts of dreams: the regular kind, which could be analyzed psychologically, which Giles had already tried doing, and was unsuccessful. The dream was definitely not symbolic, but literal. Then there was the "out of body experience", which isn't technically a dream, but often happens during sleep. That most certainly didn't apply; even if some sort of time travel was involved, the dream had included all the sensory experiences that required a body. The third kind was the prophecy dream, but that didn't fit either; except for that one segment, the dreams had been not about the future, but about the past, only a past that had never happened. It was as if they were memories of an alternate course of events, of what would have happened if Giles hadn't stayed with Jenny that night, and if he hadn't brought that mace with him. It certainly was lucky that he had.

Was it luck? Leaning back in his chair, Giles realized he had never thought about it before, but now that he did he remembered being quite purposeful in all his actions, putting the mace and crucifix in his briefcase and leaving the library to find Jenny as if he had an appointment. Why? Giles tried to remember the train of thought that had led to his actions, but couldn't. He did remember he had been reading something right before he left. Maybe it had been something he'd read? Perhaps something about Drusilla being precognizant that alerted him to the potential danger of Jenny translating the spell. But he didn't even know about the spell at that time, did he? Jenny had told him about it for the first time that evening. Yet Giles didn't remember being surprised by her news. He had known what was coming…

But that was ridiculous. Giles stood up and began pacing. He should be trying to remember something concrete. Remembering thoughts was rife with potential inaccuracies. What was it he had been reading that night? Giles couldn't think of it, but he did remember putting the books away the next day, having forgotten what he'd wanted with them. While he was re-shelving them he'd had an argument with Buffy. Yes, he remembered that quite clearly, including the section of the stacks they'd been in.

Giles put his glasses back on and nearly ran to the stacks, inexplicably convinced that finding the books he had been reading that day would answer everything. He found the right section and scanned the titles: _Conary's Comprehensive Catalogue of Known Alternate Realities and Dimensions_, _The Creation of Alternate Realities and the Possibility Inter-Reality Travel_, _Time – the Unexplored Fourth Dimension_, _A Brief History of Time Travel_, _A New Topology for Curved Space-Time which Incorporates the Causal, Differential and Conformal Structures_…

A chill ran down Giles's spine. So he had known what was coming. Why didn't he know now? What exactly happened? And why? A plethora of new questions presented themselves to Giles, but he wasn't entirely sure he wanted them all answered.

**THE END**

Of Part I


End file.
